John fransmann



(No Model.)

J. FRANSMANN.

WHEEL SHOE.

Patented-July 26, 1892.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN FRANSMANN, OF NEWV YORK, N. Y.

WHEEL-SHOE.

' SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 479,708, dated July 26, 1892. Application filed January 9, 1892. Serial No. 417,475- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, J OHN FRANSMANN, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of New York, in the State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in lVheel-Shoes, of which the following is a specification.

The improvement relates to that class of shoes which are applied to the wheels of ordinary carriages and removed at will to adapt the carriage for the time being to serve as a sleigh. There have been many attempts in this line.

My improvement overcomes the principal diffieulties. It allows a set of shoes to apply to a wide range of sizes of wheels. There should be a shoe for each wheel for ordinary four-wheeled carriages, the front pair swiveling on a king-bolt. The shoes of the hind wheels are thus tied to points in-convenient parts of the body or of a crossbar attached thereto, and the shoes of the fore wheels are thus tied to the bar which extends across the front of the springs and turns therewith. The body of my shoe is a bar of iron, steel, or semi-steel of proper section, bent to form a long base with each end turned up. The front end extends up to or near the midheight of the wheel and is provided with an eye or ring, or both, which receives the strap secured to something farther forward. Each shoe receives and supports its wheel in a channel-iron for a portion of its periphery and is secured by internal ears and transverse bolts at three points. One point thus secured is at the bottom, where the wheel rests on the shoe. Another is up near the mid-height at the front, and another is at a somewhat lower point at the rear. The ears are formed flush laterally with the exterior of the shoe. The heads of the bolts are countersunk into their places, and smooth exterior surfaces are presented on both faces of the wheel.

A shoe may apply properly to wheels of different sizes by adjusting the shoe and certain filling-pieces and securing the whole.

The accompanying drawings form a part of this specification and represent what I consider the best means of carrying out the invention.

Figure 1 is a general side view of a light carriage with my invention in use. The same size of shoe is applied to the front and rear wheels, illustrating the capacity of the construction to match different sizes of wheels. Ordinarily any given carriage having different sized front and rear wheels will be equipped with shoes of difierent sizes. Fig. 2 is a side view of a shoe and a portion of a wheel on a larger scale, and Fig. 3 is a crosssection on a larger scale. It is 011 the sectionline 3 3 in Fig. 2.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures where they appear.

A is the body of a carriage, B B the axles, and D D the wheels, all of any ordinary or suitable construction.

M is a shoe, certain portions being designated, when necessary, by super-numerals, as M. A portion M is of channel-iron riveted or otherwise strongly secured to the inner and upper face of the main body. The rim of the wheel is received in the channel or the inner face of this iron and is supported laterally thereby, different widths of wheel being thus received and supported by the aid of shiming-pieces N, of hard wood or other suitable material, firmly held by the same means as the wheel. The wheel is secured by transverse bolts P, set in internal ears. There are three bolts and three pairs of these ears, the rear pair of cars being marked M the bottom pair M and the front pair M Each bolt P is screw-threaded into one ear and has a conical head let into a countersunk hole in the other ear. A deeply-notched block of hard wood Q lies within each pair of cars next to each bolt P. The wheel, whether large or small, lies close to the shoe at the points M and M .Blocks R fill the remaining space, if any, between the bloek Q and the felly or wheel-rim. The channel-iron M is curved to match to the wheel of the smallest diameter which it will ever be required to receive. When such a wheel is presented, it matches all along the length of the channel. When a larger wheel is received, it matches at each end of the channel, but lies more or less upward or inward from the base along the midlength of the channel. The width of the channel should be equal to the greatest width of wheel. When a wheel of less width is received, a shiming-piece N is fitted in to fill out the width. The ears M and M are welded or otherwise strongly and rigidly joined to the shoe. Each pair of ears M is, on the contrary, adapted to be adjusted bodily inward and outward relatively to the shoe by means of a sufficiently long screw tapped through the shoe and swiveled to the base of the ears. By turning this screw after the other parts are adjusted the union of the shoe to the wheel may be made very firm. The strain may be applied by turning the screw to press its pair of ears inward or to draw them outward, as may be found most expedient. With wheels in ordinary condition I prefer that the pressure be exerted inward, pressing against the tire of the wheel at the rear end M of course inducing a similar condition at the front M, while the reverse conditions obtain at the intermediate ears, those at the bottom M Either way there is a sufficient tension to take up all slack and avoid 10st motion and rubbing. Leather, felt, or other slightly-yielding material may be introduced between the Wheel-rim and the other parts to reduce still further the chance of .marring the surfaces of the wheel.

The blocks R perform an important duty in compensating for variations in the diameters of the wheel. With the smallest diameter of wheel D they may be all outside of the wheel, between it and the shoe, and with the largest diameter of wheel these blocks may be all within the rim of the wheel, between it and the block Q. WVit-h wheels D of intermediate diameter two or more blocks R may be required within each pair of ears M one Within the rim of the wheel and the other without, between it and the shoe. The blocks R, whether one or more, are reliably held by screws or nails S, inserted through holes m, which are provided in the ears M at points so distributed that some are always available.

L is astrap connecting the front eye of the shoe M to a convenient part in front of the Wheel. It should be sufficiently slack to allow a certain amount of pitching motion, but performs an important function in relieving the wheel when exposed to great distorting strains.

I attach importance to the fact that my channel-iron M is arranged with one of its ends under the axle, so that it is certain to afford a direct and reliable bearing for the wheel-rim at that point, and that the ears M are a good distance away in the opposite direction from that in which the channel-iron extends, so as to insure a long bearing between the exterior pairs of ears M M with the channel-iron occupying only the front half thereof. The short length of the channeliron makes it easy to match a wide range in the sizes of the wheels, and its location makes it an efficient support.

My shoes being smooth on their exteriormay be drawn among rocks or other hard objects without injury. They are light and may be easily carried in a carriage, ready for emergencies. The blocks B may be made anywhere with any tools, and the shimingpieces N may be provided by any very ordinary workman in wood or metal. and el'iicient bearings provided by the channel-irons add much to the success of the shoes. The shinning-pieces may be dispensed with in emergencies.

I claim as my invention- 1. The shoe described, adapted to apply under'a carriage-wheel, having the body M with a long base and turned-up ends, channel-iron M, curved to match a wheel of small diameter and strongly fixed within the body in the position shown, extending from the ears Miat the lowest point forward and upward to the ears M at the forward bearing of the shoe on the Wheel, three pairs of ears M M M", and corresponding bolts P, setin each pair of cars, the rearmost being a sufficient distance from the channel-iron to afford a valuable support independent thereof, as herein specified.

2. The shoe described, adapted to apply under a carriage-wheel, having the body M with a long base and turned-up ends, channel-iron M, curved to match a wheel of small diameter and strongly fixed within the body, three pairs of ears M M M, arranged as shown, the bolts P, set in each pair of ears with the outer faces flush,the notched blocks Q, lying in contact with the bolts P, and the block or blocks R, arranged in the required positions within or without the wheel-rim, as shall be required to match wheels of different diameters, substantially as herein specified.

3. The ears M M M with means for engaging the same with the Wheel-rim, in combination with the body M of the shoe, channel'iron M, curved to match awheel of small diameter, and the screw WV, connected to one of the pairs of cars, arranged to urge the same inward or outward and tighten the hold on the wheel, as herein specified.

In testimony that I claim the invention above set forth I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN FRANSMANN.

Witnesses:

THOMAS DREW STETsoN, ALICE L. MARKLAND.

The long ICC 

